Vietnam Drilling Update

Soco International PLC
31 October 2007

                             SOCO International plc
                           ('SOCO' or 'the Company')

                            Vietnam Drilling Update

VN-1X Well

The Company's majority owned subsidiary, SOCO Vietnam Ltd., announces that the
Voi Nau (VN-1X) well, the first well on Prospect 'AA' in Block 16-1, will be
plugged and abandoned after reaching a total depth of 3,130 metres.  The well
was drilled on a four way closure to evaluate the Oligocene section that was
productive in Voi Trang. While the well encountered oil shows, the sands were
poorly developed and had insufficient porosity to warrant testing.

TGD-1X Well Testing

Following this well, the rig will return to the Te Giac Den 1X ('TGD-1X') well
on Prospect 'E'. As announced on 30 July 2007, the TGD-1X well encountered
hydrocarbons in two Oligocene clastic sequences, which were separated by a
volcanic layer. Well logs over the upper sequence indicated approximately 30
metres of net pay. After drilling through the volcanics, the well also
encountered a deeper high pressure clastic sequence with oil and gas shows.  A
further 300 metres of sediment is interpreted above the Basement.

Although equipment is now assembled that would enable the section above the
volcanics to be tested, detailed analysis of the well, including the benefit of
drilling with the high pressure blow out preventer, testing multiple high
pressure zones and the extent of the potential formation damage, has supported a
decision to re-drill the entire section and conduct a single testing programme.

Ed Story, President and Chief Executive of SOCO, commented:

'We are particularly excited to return to the TGD structure. Success in the
deeper objective section of this structure could totally transform this company
and represent a significant milestone in the history of oil exploration in
Vietnam.  Accordingly, we are quite anxious to resume our evaluation now that we
have assembled the proper high pressure drilling equipment.

                                                                 31 October 2007

ENQUIRIES:

SOCO International plc
Roger Cagle                       Deputy Chief Executive and                      Tel: [phone]
                                  Chief Financial Officer

Pelham Public Relations
James Henderson                                                                   Tel: [phone]
Alisdair Haythornthwaite                                                          Tel: [phone]



NOTES TO EDITORS:

SOCO is an international oil and gas exploration and production company,
headquartered in London, traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent
of the FTSE 250 Index. The Company has interests in Vietnam, Yemen, Thailand,
the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
and Angola with production operations in Yemen.

SOCO holds its interests in Vietnam, all in the Cuu Long Basin offshore, through
its 80% owned subsidiary SOCO Vietnam Limited ('SOCO Vietnam') and through its
100% ownership of OPECO, Inc. SOCO Vietnam holds a 25% working interest in Block
9-2, which is operated by the Hoan Vu Joint Operating Company ('HVJOC') and
holds a 28.5% working interest in Block 16-1, which is operated by the Hoang
Long Joint Operating Company ('HLJOC'). OPECO, Inc. holds a 2% interest in Block
16-1.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange